{"podcast":{"title":"Behind the Stays","slug":"behind-the-stays-3506810","podcast_index_feed_id":3506810,"rss_url":"https://feed.podbean.com/behindthestays/feed.xml","website_url":"https://www.behindthestays.com/","image_url":"https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/10635360/BTS-Artwork-1400x1400.jpg","author":"Zach Busekrus","episode_count":368,"summary":"Welcome to Behind the Stays — a podcast that shares the stories behind your favorite boutique hotels, short-term rentals, and hospitality brands and the hosts, operators, and entrepreneurs who’ve brought them to life. Every Tuesday and Friday you’ll meet the military veterans, retired flight attendants, tech entrepreneurs, school teachers, single moms, hoteliers, and real estate investors who are all, in their unique ways, shaping the future of travel and hospitality. Discover how these visionaries — from all over the world — have built stunning landscape hotels in the mountains, designed bohemian bungalows on the beach, erected eclectic off-grid and nature-immersed escapes, and so much more. Behind the Stays is brought to you by Journey — a first-of-its-kind loyalty program that brings together an alliance of the world’s top independently owned and operated stays and allows travelers to earn points and perks on boutique hotels, vacation rentals, treehouses, ski chalets, glamping experiences and so much more. And I’m your host, Zach Busekrus, Head of the Journey Alliance. Alright friends, enjoy the show!","last_synced_at":"2026-07-22T04:18:26.153492+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/behind-the-stays-3506810"},"episode":{"title":"This Week in Hospitality: War, The Claude Effect, Too Many Hotel Brands & Kimpton’s Big Test","slug":"this-week-in-hospitality-war-the-claude-effect-too-many-hotel-brands-kimpton-s-big-test","published_at":"2026-03-06T13:15:53+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/behind-the-stays-3506810/this-week-in-hospitality-war-the-claude-effect-too-many-hotel-brands-kimpton-s-big-test","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/behind-the-stays-3506810","url":"https://behindthestays.podbean.com/e/war-the-claude-effect-too-many-hotel-brands-kimpton-s-big-test/","audio_url":"https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/hpici39izhq5syyi/TWIH_168wk0x.mp3","summary":"Subscribe to This Week in Hospitality wherever you get you podcasts: Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5oPExA0txHMjEI5Ye13IUyApple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-week-in-hospitality/id1849637233Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@ThisWeekinHospitality This week’s episode of This Week in Hospitality starts on a deeply human note, with the crew reflecting on the escalating conflict in Iran and the ripple effects being felt across the Middle East and global travel. Edwin, Scott, Ben, and Zach share firsthand accounts from friends and colleagues across Dubai, Kuwait, Doha, Beirut, and beyond — a sobering reminder that hospitality often becomes both refuge and frontline in moments of crisis. From bombed airports to stranded travelers to terrified interns far from home, the conversation grounds the industry in what matters most: people caring for people.From there, the episode pivots hard into one of the biggest questions facing travel right now: what happens when AI stops being a novelty and starts becoming the interface? The panel unpacks Skift’s “Claude Effect” thesis — the idea that travel may be next in line for the same investor panic and business-model disruption already hitting legal, finance, and cybersecurity. Ben argues the OTAs are in the blast zone. Scott says the markets always overreact — but something big is clearly coming. Edwin drops a scorching hot take: the real endgame may not be Booking vs. Expedia, but an AI giant partnering with or buying one of them outright.The back half of the episode tackles hotel brand sprawl and whether the industry has finally reached a saturation point. Are soft brands actually helping, or have they become watered-down middle children that confuse consumers and dilute meaning? The crew debates wheth…","meta_description":"Subscribe to This Week in Hospitality wherever you get you podcasts: Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5oPExA0txHMjEI5Ye13IUyApple Podcasts - https:…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3844,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/behind-the-stays-3506810/episodes/this-week-in-hospitality-war-the-claude-effect-too-many-hotel-brands-kimpton-s-big-test/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/behind-the-stays-3506810/this-week-in-hospitality-war-the-claude-effect-too-many-hotel-brands-kimpton-s-big-test.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}